Love Is Love
by take.a.chance. just.say.yes
Summary: Claire is bisexual, and Massie is a lesbian. They become good friends over the course of a year, and maybe even more. OOC.
1. Prologue

**A/N: I'm now a senior in college and things have changed since I was last writing Clique fanfiction. I've learned a lot about myself in the past 3 years. I've learned that I have generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder. I've learned science isn't my career path, because it made me miserable. I'm more suited to accounting. Most surprisingly, I've learned that I'm not straight. I'm bisexual, and it's an important part of me. I started writing this last summer, a year after same sex marriage was legalized in the U.S. I wrote this because I don't believe there's enough LGBTQIA fanfiction and characters in this fandom. Please enjoy this very OOC story that ignores Clique history.**

 **Disclaimer: I am not Lisi Harrison and do not own the Clique or the characters.**

 **CLAIRE**

There are a lot of things that I hate about Westchester. I could name at least ten things off the top of my head: snobby people, competition to seem like you're #1, the judgement, how small the community is and how everyone knows your business. I've lived here my whole life, and I've hated it for most of that time. However, I didn't know how alone this city could make me feel until this past year. Last summer, I went to visit my cousin Alanna and her mom in Portland, Maine. My cousin was only a year younger than me, but I never spent much time at her house in Portland because my parents were uncomfortable with her mom.

My aunt was in a long-term relationship with another woman. She is my dad's sister and her relationship made him act awkward whenever his sister was mentioned. Understandably, my aunt Jennifer didn't exactly jump at the chance to spend time with her low-key homophobic brother. I, however, loved seeing Alanna and Jennifer, so being allowed to spend four weeks with them (after a lot of parental convincing) was a treat.

While I was in Portland, we went to the Portland Pride parade. Being immersed in the LGBTQIA community made things clear for me: I was not straight. I kind of knew it all along, but being around people who are supportive no matter your orientation, cleared things up for me. I definitely liked guys, but also like women beyond just being "friends". _Especially_ my aunt's girlfriend Theresa's daughter, Sam. We spent a lot of time together while I was in Maine, and we ended up making out on more than one occasion.

We still texted when I came back to New York, but neither of us wanted to be in a long-distance relationship. Relationships are already tricky enough without adding that distance. There was also the fact that we were both girls. Her mom was cool with us, but under no circumstance would our relationship be accepted by my parents. I wasn't ready to come out to my parents, and I didn't want to keep my relationship with Sam a secret, so we decided that we would just be friends.

Coming back to Westchester was like a slap in the face. Leaving the supportive environment that was Portland for Heteronormative City, NY was hard. I didn't realize how insidious homophobia was until my return right after same sex marriage was legalized. People were excited that it was legalized, but also believed that was the end of the LGBTQIA "struggle". We were equal now, and had no right to claim we were being harassed or discriminated against. I couldn't even act offended by these comments because I wasn't ready to come out to the world and my parents. I felt so incredibly alone.

And then…suddenly I wasn't.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N:**

 **Disclaimer: I am not Lisi Harrison and do not own the Clique or the characters.**

 **MASSIE**

December 11

BOCD High School

7:50 A.M.

"Are you going out tonight? I think Derrick is having a party if you wanted to go with me?" Josh nudged my shoulder. I was zoning out during homeroom; Josh was sitting next to me trying to get me to pay attention to him.

It was a December Friday, senior year, and one of the last days of school before winter break. I was stressed out about exams the following week and wasn't interested in paying attention. School was over on Wednesday and even our homeroom teacher had given up on correcting behavior against school rules, like having phones out.

"I appreciate the offer, but no. I have a date tonight, so…" I trailed off, picking up my phone as it buzzed with an iMessage. Speak of the devil: it was Shelby, my date.

"Wait! Block has a date? You don't date." Josh stared at me, his voice serious. This guy was rarely serious, so for him, my news must be earth shattering. "Who is the lucky guy?"

I stiffened in my seat and glared at him, annoyed. I looked around; fortunately, no one was paying attention to our conversation. I leaned closer to his desk and practically growled at him. "It's not a guy, dick weed, and you know it." Josh's face changed immediately when he saw and heard my anger.

"Whoa, Mass. I was trying to keep that on the down low. Isn't that what you wanted?" His voice was low and he held up his hands in defeat. "Seriously, I didn't forget your secret. I just wasn't trying to tell anyone. It's not anyone's business but yours."

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Josh didn't deserve my anger or frustration. He was one of the only people who knew that I wasn't into guys at all and was still supportive of me.

I leaned closer to him before speaking. "Sorry, Josh. Long week. My dad has been driving me crazy. He tried to set me up with Derrick Harrington last night. Evidently our dads are working together on some board and my dad suggested we have a family dinner soon so us kids can "get to know each other better". As if we don't know each other. It's just frustrating that only my mom knows. She just ignores the elephant in the room and practically encourages my dad to set me up with rich guys from school. It's kind of hurtful. I know I'm not exactly what my mom expected from her only child, but I'm not going to change and I wish she accepted me. I am who I am."

Josh ran his hands through his short brown hair and sighed. " _Seriously_? Derrick Harrington? It's fun to drink his parents' expensive alcohol, but he's not exactly a quality human being. I'm sorry about everything, Mass. I wish I could change how things are. I can only imagine how shitty it must be that your mom just ignores what you told her."

I laughed. "He is literally so shitty. Definitely not someone I want to be friends with. Can you believe I ever wanted to date him? Or thought I wanted to date him. Freshman me was so dumb. Obviously, that relationship would have been a shit show. It never would have worked out because I'm hella gay. Wish I could change my mom, too." My phone buzzed again on my desk. I looked around the classroom again. Our homeroom teacher, Mr. Meyer, was reading the New York Times. Half the class was talking to each other and the other half was playing on their phones. We only had ten minutes left in homeroom so I checked my messages.

 **Shelby:** Hey Mass. I'm super excited about tonight…Meet at your house at 7?

 **Cam** : If you want to go to the GSA this afternoon, let me know. Public school is way more chill than your private school is. No one is going to judge you. These are the best people to come out to first.

I smiled at both messages. Maybe my home life was stressful, but I had some great _**and**_ accepting friends, and amazing more-than-friends. Cam was a friend who went to a local public school; he used to attend BOCD with me and Josh, but switched schools sophomore year. His family had some money issues and that was one of the sacrifices he had made. He was gay, and liked to invite me to GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) meetings at his school. I had yet to attend one, as I was usually busy when the meetings were. I also wasn't ready to admit to people I was a lesbian, so overall me attending a meeting had not worked out.

"Maybe I'll get Plovert to go with me tonight. I think he's struggling with his depression again," Josh said softly, almost like he was talking to himself. I texted both Cam and Shelby back before looking at Josh, who appeared to be typing out a text on his phone. I assumed it was to our mutual best friend, Chris Plovert.

"I'm not sure if you should take our best friend to go drink if he's depressed." I shrugged. "Just a suggestion, bud."

Josh grimaced. "Yeah, probably not a good idea. Maybe we should skip the party and go get dinner or something." He returned to texting on his phone.

"Maybe. I can't go, still. Give Chris a hug for me? I haven't been able to hang out with him lately. Our opposite class schedule and his work schedule is killing me." I put my phone in my purse as the bell rang, signaling the end of homeroom. "I'll see you second period."

"Will do. AP Bio! Can't wait. I love being smart," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Love you, Mass."

"Love you, Josh." We walked out of the classroom together, before heading our separate ways; me to AP English Literature, Josh to Calculus.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N:**

 **Disclaimer: I am not Lisi Harrison and do not own the Clique or the characters, nor do I own any movies mentioned.**

 **CLAIRE**

December 11

White Plains, NY – Movie Theatre

8:45 P.M.

I stepped up to the ticket window. "Can I get one ticket for Krampus at 9:00?" I asked the ticket saleswoman.

She started typing into her computer. "That'll be $13."

I slid my credit card into the ticket window slot. She swiped my card before the ticket and receipt printed.

"Please sign the receipt at the bottom." The lady continued. I did as I was told before sliding the receipt back through the ticket window. I took my ticket.

"Enjoy the show!" She smiled at me.

I smiled back. "Thanks." I walked away from the box office and entered the movie theatre. Krampus, a holiday horror movie, was showing in Theatre 12, so I veered left past the concession stand to the hallway that said "THEATRES 1-12". It probably seemed pathetic to the ticket lady that I was seeing a movie alone on a Friday, two weeks before Christmas, but I had a reason.

At least twice a month, Sam and I would see a movie on the same night before discussing the movie with each other. Tonight's movie was Sam's pick; she loved probably-terrible horror movies. Sam always sat through my rom-com or over-dramatic picks, so I was happy to oblige. She was a huge movie connoisseur with questionable taste, and loved discussing horror and super hero movies. Even though we weren't dating, I did want to make her happy, and since we were 400 miles away from each other, that happiness came in the form of seeing crappy movies and discussing them.

I usually went to the movie theatre in White Plains. Most people from our school went to the movie theatre in Port Chester or New Rochelle, so I drove the twenty minutes to White Plains to avoid anyone I knew. It was a lot easier to spend my Friday night alone if I didn't see anyone I potentially knew. I had a few friends from school that I could theoretically invite, but I'd rather see these movies alone than see them with anyone but Sam. I was definitely still caught up on Sam. Not dating sucked, but I imagine keeping Sam a secret from my parents would be even worse. So here I was, alone on a Friday night, seeing a movie I should be seeing with my could-be girlfriend.

As I was walking to the last theatre on the left side of the building, I saw someone out of place. Massie Block. She didn't strike me as a movie goer, and I was really surprised to see her in White Plains. Maybe I was being judgmental, but I only expected her to leave our town for Manhattan, the Hamptons and cities outside the U.S. Nor did I expect her at a terrible horrible movie.

Massie and I have gone to the same schools our whole lives. Her parents were super rich; her parents had a country club named after them in Westchester County. Her dad was a lawyer; I'm not sure what her mom did, exactly, but it involved working on foundation boards and community service. They were super powerful Westchesterites. They lived in the poshest neighborhood in town, one I had never been invited to visit.

She was always hanging out with two guys from our grade, Josh Hotz and Chris Plovert. One of my friends, Kristen, was convinced Massie was dating Josh. Either way, we didn't have any evidence. We were in a group project together in pre-calc junior year, but other than that I've never talked to her about anything other than math. She was extremely intimidating to me: smart, beautiful and powerful. A lot like Sam, if I'm being honest. They had similar builds; similar chestnut hair; similar facial features. Similar enough that I could recognize Sam in Massie. I missed Sam so much, that I was seeing her in people completely different personality-wise.

Massie was standing outside Theatre 12 talking with a blonde girl who looked about our age. She must attend another school in the area, as I had never seen her before, and BOCD is a small school. Massie laughed at something the other girl said, before walking over to the Theatre 12 door and opening it.

I walked in behind them. When they chose seats, they were one row a head of where I would usually sit. I kept with my usual seating, as I wanted the middle seat in the middle row of the theatre. When I was in Portland, I saw a bunch of movies with Sam, and this row is where we usually sat. While the previews were showing and I was getting settled in, Massie leaned over to the blonde girl and whispered something. She immediately laughed in return. They were leaning into each other before the previews were over.

The movie started, and I turned my attention to the screen. The movie was exactly what I expected: kind of terrible, but also enjoyably cheesy. I'm sure Sam was loving it. She was seeing the 8:45 showing at a theatre outside Portland. 30 mins in to my movie, I got a text from her.

 **Sam** : CLAIRE this movie is so good! I'm sure your miserable but thanks for watching.

The three rows behind me were empty, and my phone screen was on low light, so I felt comfortable texting her back.

 **Claire:** this movie is kinda bad, but kinda good. the usual with your horror movie picks. you have the WORST taste.

Her response came a moment later.

 **Sam** : you love me, though

My stomach dropped when I read her message. Not exactly what I wanted to read.

 **Sam** : I'm sorry, i meant that as a joke, but poor taste.

Sam and I didn't discuss how we felt about each other. It was just too hard. We weren't dating; we could date anyone we wanted and we weren't allowed to get jealous. It had been four and a half months since we had seen each other, but my feelings were still fresh. It was even more complicated because Sam was dating someone. Overall, the situation sucked, and I just wanted to move on but still be friends with Sam. As each day passed, it seemed like that was an impossible goal. I didn't respond and put my phone away.

I heard a noise from in front of me, so I glanced down. One thing I know about sitting in the middle of the theatre, is that it doesn't offer any privacy. I speak from first-hand experience, as Sam and I had made out a few times, and were interrupted by other movie patrons. A pretty embarrassing and humbling experience.

However, it seems like Massie and the girl she was with had never had that kind of negative experience. If they had, they probably would've sat in the top row of the theatre before making out, like they were now. I stared at them for a moment, completely shocked, before looking at the screen. While they were making out in front of me and it was completely inappropriate, it wasn't my place to stare. I coughed a little, so they would realize they weren't alone. Come on, this was a horror Christmas movie! Not exactly a romantic movie.

They immediately stopped what they were doing. Massie whipped her head around and I saw fear on her face when she recognized me.

"Claire?" She whispered forcefully. "Claire Lyons?"


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N:**

 **Disclaimer: I am not Lisi Harrison and do not own the Clique or the characters, nor do I own any movies mentioned.**

 **MASSIE**

December 11

White Plains, NY – Movie Theatre

9:40 PM

My date with Shelby had gone well up until this point. We had gotten pizza at A Slice of Heaven before driving to White Plains to see Krampus. Evidently, Shelby had been looking forward to seeing the movie for weeks, so I decided it would be our date movie for tonight. We had been on five dates in the past few weeks, and I liked Shelby a lot. We meshed well and her parents were friends with mine, so us spending a lot of time together wouldn't be questioned. I didn't watch a lot of horror movies, but I was willing to take a chance. It was only two hours; I would survive if it was bad.

Things were going well enough that before long we were holding hands. And not long after that, Shelby leaned towards me and kissed me. My brain was one big warning alarm; this was a public movie theatre. I couldn't get caught making out with a girl in movie theatre! But then Shelby placed a hand on my cheek and kissed me harder, and all worried thoughts left my head. Shelby was smart, and hot, and sweet. We hit it off when my parents introduced us in November. Our parents were so thrilled that we were friends, that they planned a Christmas vacation to my family's second home in Napa Valley. So yes, I said screw it and made out with a wonderful friend who was probably my girlfriend now. While my parents would not be thrilled with the true nature of our relationship, I certainly was. They were just going to be kept in the dark.

But then I heard a noise that made me stiffen. Someone coughed from behind us. I turned my head around quickly to see who it was. My jaw practically dropped. She went to my school. Claire – something. How did I not know that someone was behind us? How did we not see her walk up the theatre stairs and sit behind us?

Claire Lyons! That was her name. "Claire? Claire Lyons?" I whisper-shouted at her. "What the hell are you doing here?"

She held up her hands defensively. "Hey, I was just trying to watch this movie. You're the ones who decided to make out in the middle of a movie theatre, during _Krampus_. What the hell?"

My face felt warm. I'm sure it was bright red at that point. "Um, I'm sorry, Claire. But I really have to talk to you right now." I turned to Shelby and whispered to her. "I'm really sorry, but she goes to my school. I can't risk this getting back to my dad. You know my mom knows, but this would be a shit storm if he finds out I like girls."

She looked at me. "Massie, you can't hide it forever. But I get it. Talk to her. I'll be here."

I made eye contact with Claire. "Please? I'll give you money to buy another movie ticket if you want."

I probably looked to desperate that she stood up, gestured towards the aisle, and said "After you, I guess."

I got up and walked out of the movie theatre. There was a bench outside of the theatre. Claire sat down and stared at me. I sat too, while wringing my hands; I couldn't read her face. My heart was pounding and I kept feeling myself hold my breath. "So, I guess my secret is kind of out of the bag."

Claire laughed. "What secret is it, exactly?"

I exhaled deeply. "Seriously? 'What secret is it, exactly?' Did you not just see what happened in there?"

She shrugged in return. "I'm not making any assumptions here. Everyone has secrets."

I stared at her for a moment, mentally preparing myself for what I was going to say. She just stared back at me, blinking. No judgment, disgust or shock. She looked harmless. Claire and I may have gone to school together for all our lives, but we didn't know each other. We had different friends. Mine were Josh and Chris; hers were Kristen, Landon and Griffin. I played tennis, while she played soccer. She was in all AP classes, where as I only took a few and had a lot of electives. We didn't have a lot of overlap. But I had always heard that she was nice, and I was really hoping that was true.

"I'm a lesbian," I finally forced out. "And I don't really want my dad to find out. He's a bit… straight-laced, very conservative. He wouldn't understand me being a lesbian. It would make my life hell."

She nodded knowingly. "I know this may come as a surprise, but I understand having secrets you don't want your parents to know."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll keep your secret if you keep mine?" She replied. I nodded slowly; if I had leverage against her, she would hopefully keep my secret. I had to try to get her to keep my secret, at least. "I'm bi. Bisexual. Into men and women. And my parents don't know."

"Wait, you're gay?" I was shocked; that wasn't what I was expecting, at all. I just assumed she had a secret boyfriend, a drug problem, or a secret abortion. Nothing like this.

An annoyed look crossed her face. "No, I'm bisexual. Some bi people call themselves gay, and that's cool for them, but I use 'bi'. I feel like using 'gay' is erasing a part of me. That's just me, though."

"Wow. Sorry, that's my bad. But why are you telling me this? You have a secret of mine, why give me one?"

She thought for a moment, and bit her lip. "You're not alone in wanting to be yourself, but not really being able to do that. It sucks. I'm sure when you saw me, you felt like you were either going to vomit, or pass out. I've been there. You're worried the life you know is going to fall apart. You think you're going to lose your parents, your support system. It's terrifying. And not a lot of people around here understand that kind of fear. I'm constantly worried my parents will find out and kick me out. I'm supposed to be going to Stanford next year, early decision. I can't afford that if I got kicked out. And it's my way out; it's all the way across the country. I won't be able to visit home much. My parents have way too much money for me to get enough loans to pay for school. That's just the tip of the iceberg. What about the emotional fall out? Westchester is full of conservative WASP types, like my parents. I don't think I could be "out and proud" here. It's not that kind of town." She sighed deeply. "I've clearly thought about this a lot."

I blinked, surprised to find my eyes welling up with tears. I felt relief, but also very sad. "I'm very scared. I know I'm extremely privileged, but I'm still scared. I don't know how my dad would react. My mom knows, and she keeps encouraging my dad to set me up with guys from BOCD. I feel like my life is a ticking time bomb. I feel as if I don't behave exactly as my mom wants, she'll tell my dad. I feel so incredibly anxious all the time." A tear rolled down my face; I quickly wiped it away, hoping she didn't notice.

"The point of me telling you all that, is I'm not going to tell anyone. If that makes you feel less anxiety." Claire shrugged. She looked genuine.

"Thanks, Claire. I appreciate that."

She smiled at me. "Feels better to know you're not alone, right?" I nodded in agreement.

"Do you think, we could like, exchange numbers or something?"

She nodded, still smiling. "That'd be great. I think you understand my life better than most." I pulled out my phone, created a new contact, and handed it to her. She typed in some numbers and handed me my phone back.

"Text me tomorrow. We can go get coffee, or something. But you should probably get back to your date."

"Oh my God, I totally forgot about Shelby. It's been like an hour. I bet she's pissed." I slapped my forehead. "How could I forget about my girlfriend? Or who I think is my girlfriend. We haven't exactly had that conversation. That's only the second time we've kissed. Not that you care. I'm sorry, I should probably go back in. But let me give you some money. You missed like, the whole movie."

Claire laughed and shook her head. "No worries. Buy me coffee tomorrow?"

"Sounds good, Claire. Thanks for this. Seriously," I replied, standing up from the bench and she nodded. We went back into the theatre. I walked up the stairs behind Claire to the row where Shelby was. Her head was resting on the chair I had been sitting in; she was dead asleep, unaware of the movie playing before her. I sat down and nudged her awake. She opened her eyes and smiled.

"Hi, Mass. What'd I miss?" She said in a cute, sleepy voice. It was adorable.

"Not much, love," I whispered, leaning forward and kissing her. I pulled back and smiled at her beautiful face. "You're cute when you sleep." I wrapped an arm around her shoulders as the movie wrapped up.


End file.
